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tonight on "world news" from japan, extraordinary new images of the tsunami's fury. and as our team reaches the worst hit areas, the full scope of the humanitarian crisis becomes clearer. more than 10,000 feared dead in one region alone, perhaps far more. and as we discovered, for the survivors, food, gas and electricity running short. the neuroer will emergency here. a sixth reactor is in trouble. two have suffered partial meltdowns. nearly 200 people have been exposed to radiation. and this crisis is far from over. to the rescue. the has save effort from the united states. ships, planes, search dogs. and the remarkable stories of survival. and reunited. amid so much despair here, relief and joy as loved ones,

separated by the tsunami, are tonight back together again. and good evening from japan tonight. we are coming to you north of tokyo. and just moments ago in this city, we noticed something. all of the power in all of these buildings went out. part of the massive rolling blackouts sweeping this country, as ja pab deals with a nuclear crisis here. there are six reactors in trouble. two deeming with partial meltdowns. today, japan's prime minister called this the greatest hardship here since world war ii. and take a look at this extraordinary image tonight. a ferry carried in by the tsunami, now sitting on top of a building. as we traveled along the perimeter of the evacuation route, around the nuclear reactors today, hundreds of thousands of people in need. long lines for food, water and gas. we have it all covered here

tonight, beginning with the most dramatic images of this tsunami now coming forward for the first time. as we now reach the most devastated areas, we're coming to realize the scope of this disaster. three days after the quake, this is turning into a humanitarian nightmare. we traveled along the edge of the nuclear plant evacuation zone found people waiting and waiting. long lines everywhere. this one, just for water. i asked this guard if he's ever seen anything like this. he says, "this is the first time ever." he items me there's a shelter where there is some food, but not enough for everyone. and this little girl, just 11, n nods, telling us, she's taking that water home. gas station had no gas. and that's what you find on the periphery of this zone. there isn't food, there isn't water and very rarely do you find a gas station. and the last one we did had a long line. and then, of course, the growing fear here of radiation from the nuclear power plants.

how old is she? this little girl holds up two fingers, just 2. and her mother is worried. are you nervous about the nuclear reactors? "yes, very," she tells us. she's following the news here, the instructions not to go outside. she has sealed her windows. but she said she had to come out to get food and water. there are now emergencies here at six nuclear reactors, two different plants. hundreds of thousands have been told to e vk wait. this firefighter admitted to us he is fearful of what could happen here. it makes you nervous? he tells us he's worried about people that live in the evacuation zone. and, now, a third reactor is in trouble. and authorities say it could explode. the fear that it would led off radio active steam. and now we're being told of a state of emergency declared at another nuclear facility after excessive radiation levels recorded there. and with so many reactors now offline, the government has

begun those rolling backouts. amid the devastation, there is still hope here. new images tonight of extraordinary rescues. these people stranded on the roof of a school, looking down and seeing something moving, washing up a car that was in a pile of mud and debris. they see people still alive inside. they alert rescue teams who found three elderly people in the car. they had been stuck more than 20 hours, no food, no water, and nighttime temperatures close to freezing. these stories of amazing survival are now mounting here. there was this, a man sitting on his roof, swept out to sea by the waves, found ten miles offshore. he had been floating for two days, his wife didn't survive. and today, these new images of the wave that devastated this coastline. the most power ifl image yet of just how massive and terrifying this was. of course, we know the rath of this tsunami was felt particularly hard in sendai. and for so many days now, it was impossible to get there. tonight, clarissa ward is there, surveying the damage, where the

water at one point had reached tree tops. >> reporter: they are scenes playing out up and down hundreds of miles of japan's coastline. we visited one of the hardest-hit areas, the city of sendai. just two days ago, this was a thriving port. take a look at the shoreline before the quake. and today, a wasteland. the air is thick with this acrid smoke that's coming from that refinery over there that's still burning. this tsunami took everything out in its path, from cars, which are now strewn like toys, to traffic lights. for many, the devastation was almost too much to bear. "words fail me, because there is nothing here," this woman says. "everything is gone." we've been just approached by a rescue worker who ask to be very careful when shooting this devastation. he says there are still a lot of dead bodies in those cars. and while there's a need to recover the dead, the rush is on

to reach the living. countless people are stranded or homeless, sleeping in makeshift shelters. even for those who have not lost their homes, there are growing concerns over a shortage of water, food and power. "my family and friends are all together in one house," this man told me. "now we're running out of food. i'm starting to worry." ed a another thing that has this city on only, a prediction that another major quake could hit again in the coming days. clarissa ward, abc news, sendai. >> our thanks to clarissa ward and our team in sendai tonight. that's just one of the cities all along the coastline that dealt with the rath in that tsunami. tonight, christiane amanpour flies over the devastation for a first hand look. she's here with us in japan, as well. christiane? >> reporter: david, this morning, japan is on high nuclear alert. and the government is also racing to save lives. it has doubled its rescue

operation from 50,000 personnel to 100,000. with search and rescue operations now under way in many parts of the earthquake/tsunami zone, we wanted how much of the country is effected by this kind of chaos and destruction. the helicopters taking on fuel and we're going up to the sendai earthquake zone. japan is not a massive country, but part of that sendai area is quite remote. some of the roads have been damaged. there are mountains around there, and that's hampering not just assessment, but also relief and the delivery of supplies. on the hour-long ride to the city of sendai, near the epicenter, little evidence of the earthquake, much of the countryside appears unscathed p but as the chopper goes to the coast, the full extent of the devastation reveals itself. huge swaths of land remain under water. we fly past this massive plume of black smoke.

the petro-chemical plant below has been burning since the earthquake struck and oil is spifling into the water. the government says it has already rescued 12,000 people. but up in sendai, the worst-hit area, they are expecting bad weather. that's not good for the rescue operation and it is not good for any nuclear radiation fallout. david? >> really something to see it from above. christiane amanpour, thank you. we mentioned earlier, those dramatic new images we're seeing for the first time of the strength of this tsunami. so strong, even the largest of boats couldn't withstand the pressure, as that surge moved inland. this new video shows a tidal wave is hardly just an oversized beach wave. while a regular wave lasts a few seconds and recedes, you can see here, the tsunami just keeps coming and coming, lasting 15 minutes or more. a wall of water, destroying everything in its path.

these pictures were taken fri y friday. and farther down the coast, the sirens went off at 3:00 p.m. residents had 11 minutes to reach higher ground before that giant wall of water arrived and leveled their town.

so many made it to safety is a testament to japan's tsunami warning system here. the tsunami has it has not been seen before. we turn now to the nuclear crisis still unfolding here tonight. and there are now four nuclear power plants in trouble here. we're told, six nuclear reactors. we know two of them have suffered partial meltdowns. they are watching have very closely in washington, so, david kerley tonight on the dangers here and the nuclear facilities back home, there are many similarities. >> reporter: japan had never declared a nuclear emergency. tonight, it is dealing with six runaway reactors. two, in dire shape. >> two reactors now where we have core that is partially melted. this is unprecedented. >> reporter: japanese officials fear another explosion like this one. the outer building of reactor number one at fukushima, blowing apart. this is what it looks like now. and the fear tonight, that unit number three could blow, too. both have suffered partial meltdowns. the good news? inside those buildings, the hot

nuclear cores and their prior mare containment housings are said to be intact. but with no electricity, the japanese are reportedly using fire trucks, taking the drastic step of pumping sea water into the cores and flooding the containment housings of both reactors. a last-ditch effort to cool the cores to stop the nuclear reaction. >> we are at a tipping point. either, over the next 24 to 48 hours, they're going to get control of the reactors. or, you'll get meltdown at one or more reactors, a completely unprecedented situation. >> reporter: the japanese reactors designed by general reelectric are more than four decades hold and they are common in the united states. there are 23 of them. in cities like tom s river, new jersey, cedar rapids, iowa and vermont. the industry remains confident about their safety. >> we think we're pretty well equipped. we have guidelines in place, emergency operating procedures,

training -- >> reporter: could it happen here? >> well, a tsunami of the magnitude in japan, i don't know. >> reporter: that, from an industry which has been hoping for a rebirth of nuclear energy in the u.s. >> this is the nuclear industry's worst nightmare. >> reporter: nuclear energy is one of the cornerstones of president obama's efforts to wean this country from fossil fuels. but tonight, one prominent senator says it is time for a moratorium on new nuclear construction. the white house won't go as far, telling abc news, in a statement, that the president is committed to learning lessons from the japan accident, so that nuclear energy can be produced here safely. david? >> david kerley in washington tonight, david, many thanks. as you know, the u.s. is one of dozens of nations now reaching out to jaap pan to help. tonight, as we're on the air, u.s. rescue teams have started their work. we're going to turn to martha raddatz with that part of the story. >> reporter: the uss "ronald

reagan" sits just off the coast. dozens of helicopters from the carrier are delivers food and supplies nonstop. marines and transport helicopters have moved up the coast, and the 150-member search and rescue teams from virginia and california will be moving out into the stricken towns in a matter of hours. david? >> martha raddatz, we thank you. much more from japan in a moment. first, dan harris and dr. besser standing by in new york with more on the changers from the radiation here in japan and so much concern about the children tonight. on our car insurance. great! at progressive, you can compare rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge! [ disco playing ] and this is to remind you that you could save hundreds!

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♪ 100 ways to enjoy pringles. ♪ 100 crisps, 100 ways. ♪ everything pops with pringles. and good evening, i'm dan harris in new york. as david muir reported earlier, more than 200,000 people have now been evacuated from around those troubled nuclear power plants in japan. here in the u.s. today, the nuclear regulatory commission felt compelled to come out and say there is no danger of radiation reaching this country. but in japan, the estimates are nearly 200 people may have already been exposed to radiation. >> i'm due to give birth. i want to know exactly what's going on at the nuclear plant. i'm scared. >> i don't understand the technical side of it, but i'm scared. >> reporter: the japanese are testing ever who close by when the building housing one of the troubled reactors

exploded. so far, 22 people have tested positive for contamination. three with serious exposure. two radioactive elements have been detected in the air near that reactor. so, we're going to be joined by dr. richard besser, who is in charge of emergency preparedness in this country when he was at the cdc. we look at pictures of this one, young child being tested for radiation. are the japanese doing this right? >> reporter: i look at a picture like that, and i find it reassuring. what you want to do in a disaster like this is prevent people from being exposed. they are monitoring people to see if they have had any exposure. at the same time, you want to make sure your workers are protective. >> how serious is exposure? >> reporter: what you do then is decontaminate. you remove their clothes and showering, soap and water. >> and this is what they use. >> reporter: we remove 90% of

the external contamination. it's very effective. >> pretty simple. >> reporter: it'ssimple. it's not threatening. it won't remove anything they have taken inside. you have to be able to take care of that. >> rich besser, thank you. and we know the children are often at the most risk there, and that's why they hand out the tablets. we'll be back in just a minute with the other headlines of this we'll be back in just a minute with the other headlines of this day. no problem.uestions. td ameritrade has all kinds of answers. call us. for quick help opening your new ira. or an in-depth talk with a retirement expert. like me. stop by my branch for a free retirement check-up. retirement hows and how-muches? whens... and what-ifs? bring 'em on. it's free. you're gonna retire. and we're gonna help. retirement answers at td ameritrade. where millions of people trust their retirement investments.

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witnesses to that terrible pre-dawn bus accident in new york are now contradicting the driver's story that a truck forced him off the road. they say he was driving fast, raising questions that he may have fallen asleep. the accident killed 14 people. and in politics this weekend, minnesota congresswoman michelle batch mann visited the state that holds the first presidential primary, new hampshire. she told a group of republicans how proud they should be of their state's role in the revolutionary war. >> you're the state where the shot was heard round the world at lexington and concord. you put a marker into the ground -- >> reporter: that first shot rang out in neighboring massachusetts. later on facebook, she admitted she made a mistake. and in a moment, we're going to go back to japan and david muir with a story of reunions, and an extraordinary tory of one woman going room to room to find her mother.

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and finally tonight, from japan, amid all of the devastation here, there are still so much hope. the reunions today. in this dramatic new video, watch as a rescue team pulls a small boy and his grandmother from their destroyed home. reuniting them with their family. you can hear loved ones calling out his name, about to have their little boy back. this mother waited 24 hours to find out if her little girl had survived. waiting in agony, hotding back tears as her child is brought to her across the flood waters. she says, "i don't know how many hours it's been. just glad to have her back." this family looking for a loved one when suddenly a scream from the distance. their long wait ended, with shouts of "so glad." and this woman, her home sitting off in the distance, moved by the tsunami, just wanted her

mother back. she's told to rush to a nearby elementary school, a shelter. as the camera followed her, she asks, where is everyone, have you seen my mom? she checks the first room, her mother, not there. she goes to the next room and turns the corner -- mother and daughter, reunited. the reunions here, giving so many people hope. and that is the broadcast tonight from japan. don't forget, "good morning america," first thing in the morning with the latest. and diane sawyer is on the ground here reporting, she'll be anchoring "world news" this time tomorrow night. i'm david muir. for dan harris back in new york and all of us here at abc news, good night from japan.